AVAILABLE FOR FUTURE TOURING

Mermaid Theatre's Classic Show.

Mermaid Theatre of Nova Scotia’s acclaimed composite of storybook favourites will enjoy widespread touring in 2016-2017. First premiered in 2011, Brown Bear, Brown Bear and other Treasured Stories by Eric Carle brings together old favourites and new friends. The hour-long production showcases the imaginative blend of innovative puppetry and striking scenic effects that has won international acclaim for the Nova Scotia-based theatre.

To date some 400 performances have been applauded by close to 250,000 spectators across North America and Singapore.The Very Hungry Caterpillar joins a whimsical menagerie drawn from the pages of Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? Celebrating its fiftieth anniversary, the story was written and illustrated by Carle and Bill Martin, Jr., and has served to introduce generations of toddlers to the delights of identifying colours and objects. The heartwarming father-and daughter quest for an unusual plaything, Papa, Please Get the Moon For Me offers a splendid introduction to the wonderment of the lunar cycle.

Jim Morrow, Mermaid’s Artistic Director has adapted the Carle stories from page to stage, as well as served as Director and Production Designer. Steven Naylor has created the musical score; Deborah MacLean and Struan Robertson have participated as associate designers. Multiple narrators add a charming dimension, featuring the lyrical talents of Nova Scotia's Richard Donat and Andrea Lee Norwood as well as a vibrant chorus of elementary school students from Hantsport School in Nova Scotia’s Avon Region.

"...The sweet-as-can-be doses of narrated fantasy—made more so by a whimsical score—continue with adaptations of two more widely read Carle works. The puppet-driven “animation” of the little ursine protagonist (from Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?) and of Monica and her Papa (from Papa, Please Get the Moon for Me) teases out more laughs from the audience as the characters lumber or mosey across stage. Even kids unfamiliar with Carle’s canon remain rapt, thanks in large part to the dramatic lighting, those glowing sets and the handiwork of (just) two puppeteers." - Tim McCormick, Time Out Chicago

"The show, a live staging of three standards from American children's author and illustrator Eric Carle, presents a visual feast for viewers of any age. It's shot entirely in black light, with puppetry, live animation, projected images and object movement. All this visual theater is matched with original music composed by Steven Naylor.” - Joe Hansen, Santa Barbara New Press